GMS Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Ausbildung最新文献

Although suicidality in medical students is important, few studies dealt with this issue regarding German universities. Our aims were to describe the epidemiology as well as factors leading to suicidality in medical students. Furthermore we wanted to raise awareness for this topic among university employees and show options for handling suicidal crises in students. This manuscript especially aims to address university employees working in direct contact with students (such as student counselors or teachers).

Introduction: Audio podcasts are an e-learning format that may help to motivate students to deal with the contents of medical education more intensely. We adopted a well-proven format from radio broadcasting, the radio documentary, to direct the listeners' attention to information about practical courses in biochemistry over a period of 20 minutes at most. Information, original sounds, and a specific atmosphere allow listeners to perceive the contents intensely.

Method: In order to organise the production of the podcast as cost-efficient and least time-consuming as possible, a student, a teacher, a clinician, and a technical assistant compile the core themes of their respective text blocks in an editorial conference first. After that, the speakers can elaborate on and record their blocks independently. Coordination is widely handled by the student. At two points of time, the podcasts were evaluated by the medical students by means of a questionnaire.

Results: With little cost and time expenses, eight podcasts were produced. They have been used by the students extensively and have also been evaluated very positively by non-student listeners. For long-term usage, a regular reference to the podcast offer is required in the courses.

Conclusion: Involving students, successful podcasts can be produced to support classroom teaching with little expenses and contribute to the external presentation of the medical faculty.

Teacher training programmes are necessary assets in faculty development. Few data exist on their long-term effects on participants' teaching skills. Our aim was to study participants' didactic competencies up to four years after attending a newly established faculty development workshop at Hamburg Medical School. Of the 322 participants who attended our teacher training between 2006 and 2009, 313 received a self-assessment and evaluation questionnaire in 2010. This follow-up self-assessment (t2) was compared with their self-assessment of the same didactic competencies before (t0) and directly after (t1) the training. Correlations between participants' personal reasons to attend the workshop and their assessment of didactic competencies were investigated. Self-assessment was significantly higher at the time of follow-up (t2) for all cohorts compared to the assessment before the workshop (t0). Personal reasons for participation differed greatly between voluntary and mandatory. However, self-assessment of the didactic competencies (t2) was not different between these groups. Participants involved in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) rated their competency in this field higher than participants without OSCE involvement. In conclusion, teacher training can be effective in the long run even when participation is mandatory. Competencies seem to be retained best when the content of the training fits participants' teaching activities.

Background: Within the Bologna reform, a longitudinal curriculum of "social and communicative competencies" (SOKO) was implemented into the new Bachelor-Master structure of undergraduate medical education in Basel (Switzerland).

Project description: The aim of the SOKO curriculum is to enable students to use techniques of patient-centred communication to elicit and provide information to patients in order to involve them as informed partners in decision making processes. The SOKO curriculum consists of 57 lessons for the individual student from the first bachelor year to the first master year. Teaching encompasses lectures and small group learning. Didactic methods include role play, video feedback, and consultations with simulated and real patients. Summative assessment takes place in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE).

Conclusion: In Basel, a longitudinal SOKO curriculum based on students' cumulative learning was successfully implemented. Goals and contents were coordinated with the remaining curriculum and are regularly assessed in OSCEs. At present, most of the workload rests on the shoulders of the department of psychosomatic medicine at the university hospital. For the curriculum to be successful in the long-term, sustainable structures need to be instituted at the medical faculty and the university hospital to guarantee high quality teaching and assessment.

Objective: The present questionnaire survey investigated student reception of problem-based learning (PBL) in the orthodontic curriculum with regard to acceptance, sense of purpose and motivation, knowledge and understanding, as well as tutorial support.

Methods: Over a period of two terms, we compared two different didactic methods (PBL and short presentations) by randomizing the participants of a course on orthodontic diagnostics into two different groups, who inversed methods after the first term.

Results: The two student groups did not show any significant differences with regard to assessments or examination performance. Therefore, acceptance of the PBL concept seems to be mainly associated with the motivation of individuals to use this method. The higher the motivation, the more positive is the attitude towards the PBL concept. Students seem to work more constructively and efficiently with PBL if they can judge the concept meaningful for themselves.

Conclusion: In consideration of the relevant literature and the present results, PBL can be principally integrated into the dental curriculum as a method of learning. However, student motivation is vital to learning success.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of an elaborate feedback and an audience response system (ARS) on learning success.

Methods: Students of the 1st clinical semester were randomly assigned to a study and a control group. The randomization was carried out considering the factors of age, gender and power spectrum during preliminary dental examination. Within 10 lectures 5 multiple-choice questions were asked about the learning objectives and answered by the students using an ARS. Only the study group received an immediate comprehensive feedback on the results. A final exam at the end was carried out in order to evaluate whether the elaborate feedback leads to a successful learning. Furthermore the effect of the ARS on the lecture atmosphere was investigated.

Result: The results of the final exams showed no significant difference between the study and the control group regarding the learning success.

Conclusion: Although no significant effect on learning success was found, the ARS creates a more interactive, positive learning environment.

Background: Despite the increasing interest in medical education in the German-speaking countries, there is currently no information available on the challenges which medical educators face. To address this problem, we carried out a web-based survey among the members of the Association for Medical Education (Gesellschaft für medizinische Ausbildung, GMA).

Methods: A comprehensive survey was carried out on the need for further qualifications, expertise and the general conditions of medical educators in Germany. As part of this study, the educators were asked to list the three main challenges which they faced and which required urgent improvement. The results were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis.

Results: The questionnaire was completed by 147 of the 373 members on the GMA mailing list (response rate: 39%). The educators named a total of 346 challenges and emphasised the following areas: limited academic recognition for engagement in teaching (53.5% of educators), insufficient institutional (31.5%) and financial support (28.4%), a curriculum in need of reform (22.8%), insufficient time for teaching assignments (18,9%), inadequate teacher competence in teaching methods (18.1%), restricted faculty development programmes (18.1%), limited networking within the institution (11.0%), lack of teaching staff (10.2%), varying preconditions of students (8.7%), insufficient recognition and promotion of medical educational research (5.5%), extensive assessment requirements (4.7%), and the lack of role models within medical education (3.2%).

Conclusion: The medical educators found the biggest challenges which they faced to be limited academic recognition and insufficient institutional and financial support. Consequently, improvements should be implemented to address these issues.

Research question: Are there any clear differences between the outcomes of anonymous and personalised student evaluations of teaching quality?

Methods: During a two-year period students were randomly divided into two separate groups, "anonymous" and "personalised", for end-of-module evaluations. The quality of the module was assessed using a standardised questionnaire. Additionally, students were given the option to add "further comments" if they wanted to highlight specifics. These optional comments were independently assessed by three people, using a five-dimensional rating instrument: positive/negative; differentiated/absolute; naming a person/general; containing an order/neutral; visually accentuated/blank. The database consisted of 615 evaluation forms, of which 306 were completed anonymously. In order to identify whether there were any differences between the anonymous and personalised data, a multivariate variance analysis was performed. Based on the scale, the answers to the questions and the quality of the comments were evaluated. Furthermore, an assessment was made to determine if there were any differences in the number of optional comments between the two groups.

Results: No significant differences were identified in the informative quality of data between the anonymous and personalised student evaluations. However, students in the personalised group had a tendency to include more details in their written answers.

Conclusion: Personalised evaluations do not generate more biased results in terms of social desirability, as long as the evaluation concept is characterised by a closed-circle process and is transparent. In other words, it is imperative that the outcomes of the evaluation are reported back to the students. Moreover, there has to be an opportunity for students to discuss any further suggestions and/or future desires in an open environment. In this way the students respect and understand that their feedback is being taken seriously; consequently, they feel able to provide a constructive and honest evaluation.